Shadow Speaks Out!
by shadowfan13
Summary: This is going to be epic: Shadow is interviewed by a news reporter! I need you to please send in topics that Shadow can discuss. Please R & R and comment! Shadmaria.
1. Introduction

Disclaimer: Although the original concept for this story is mine, Sonic and all other related characters are property of Sega. Twilight is the property of Stephanie Meyer.

Author's Note: Hi ya'll! :) I decided to do something that I thought was a little bit different and unique. I need topics that Shadow can talk about. It can be anything under the sun, as you will soon see in this chapter. Since this will be an ongoing story, you can ask whatever you want! :) Please R & R!

Shadow Speaks Out!

Chapter 1

It was supposed to be a very good Saturday afternoon for Shadow the Hedgehog. He had woken up at eight o'clock in the morning and had time to enjoy two fresh cups of coffee. He already had plans to go to the annual International Gun Show that afternoon, his favorite event of the year. However, the perfect day would not reveal itself to the poor ebony hedgehog this Saturday. Instead, he was supposed to meet his sister, Maria, at the bookstore. Grabbing his coat, Shadow walked out into the windy street, having absolutely no idea what was about to happen.

The bookstore that he was going to was only a few blocks from his apartment complex. It was nestled next to a bakery and a café, so the smells of fresh coffee and muffins were never far away. As he walked into the bookstore, Maria put down her copy of Twilight. What Shadow didn't notice was that she was wearing a t-shirt that read "Team Edward," based off of her favorite character from the book. Today was the bookstore's Twilight favorite character day, a special occasion where fans of the book would get together and discuss their favorite novel.

"Hi, Shadow! I'm glad you came! I know that you were really hoping to go to that gun show today." Maria greeted him with a cheerful smile.

"Yeah, but family's more important," the ebony forced out this reply. He then sat down at his sister's table. If it were his choice, he'd probably drag his sister along with him, whether she liked guns or not. He then picked up the book she was reading and said, "Vampires, eh?"

"What? I can read whatever I want! You like guns, and I like vampires!" The human girl said vehemently.

"Geez, calm down, Maria! I wasn't making fun of your book or anything! Although I do think it's kind of odd that you of all people would read books with vampires." Shadow replied, chuckling slightly.

Maria turned red in the face and her right eye started twitching, "_Oh really? And what's that supposed to mean?_" she said evilly. All of the other Edward fans turned to see what was going on.

Shadow, holding up his hands in defense, said in panic, "NOTHING! Absolutely nothing at all!"

"That's what I thought," the human girl replied, victorious. "Shadow, there is a specific reason why I asked you to come here."

"Wait, don't tell me, it has something to do with that book you're reading, isn't it?" the ebony hedgehog asked.

"No, actually, it doesn't involve my book. I've been paying attention to how other people perceive you, Shadow. I'm afraid that some people don't know the whole truth about you," she replied.

The ebony hedgehog scoffed, "Well, does it look like I really care what those people think?"

"I do, Shadow, and I'm tired of having to deal with people that have a bad impression of you! I really want to try and help you out!" Maria pleaded.

"Well, if you really want to help me out, you can let me go to my gun show!" Shadow said firmly and got up from his chair.

The conversation was nearly over when Maria said, "I'm sorry, but I can't have people that don't know the entire truth." When she said this, a dozen soldiers popped out from behind the bookcases. They yelled out, "FREEZE!" and proceeded to tranquilize the ebony hedgehog. Before he blacked out, Shadow could remember seeing himself being tossed into the back of an armored police van.

**A Few Hours Later…**

When Shadow finally woke up, he had a splitting headache. He could see that he was tied up securely in a wooden chair with thick rope. His chair was in front of a large walnut desk; a man wearing a nice suit with thick glasses seated behind the desk swiveled his chair to face the ebony hedgehog.

The man spoke in a calm and gentle voice, "Welcome, Shadow, I've been expecting you."

"Where in God's name am I? Who are you people?" Shadow asked, his mind slowly but surely becoming clearer.

Out of nowhere, a female voice that Shadow instantly recognized said, "Don't worry, Shadow, you'll be fine; they're not going to hurt you."

"Maria?!" Shadow exclaimed in shock, "what have you done to me?"

The human girl said sweetly, "You're going to be interviewed!"

Shadow instantly had a glazed over look in his eye. The only response that Maria could get from him was a confused, "Huh? What in God's name are you talking about, Maria? Is this some kind of sick joke that faker Sonic pulled? Don't worry, you can tell me if he did it; I promise I won't hurt him…too much."

Maria pulled up a chair next to him and replied, "No, Sonic has nothing to do with this. I wanted you to be interviewed by Mr. Taylor here because I want people to see the real you, the Shadow I know."

"If you don't mind," Mr. Taylor interrupted, "I'd like to start this interview."

Before Shadow could protest, his human sister said, "Sure! We're ready to start!"

"But…"

The ebony hedgehog was about to convince these people to let him go, only to have his chance taken away by Maria. "Please, Shadow, let these people interview you. Do it for me." She said with a smile.

The ebony thought for a moment, considering all of his options, before making his decision. "Okay, but you need to make this quick!"

"Alright, Shadow, we'll try to make this as painless as possible." Mr. Taylor said.

__

_**Mr. Taylor's POV**_

"This is it, my moment to shine. I have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to interview the ultra-famous Shadow the Hedgehog. I can't screw this up like I did when I interviewed Britney Spears!" I thought to myself, turning to face the camera crew.

When the camera man finished counting down the time, I began my historic endeavor, "Good evening and welcome to XZY News, your news on primetime! I'm Verne Taylor and tonight I will be interviewing Shadow the Hedgehog! I'm going to ask this well-known celebrity some questions that I know you've been dying to find out the real story!"

I then turned to the ebony hedgehog in front of me, who was still struggling to get out from his chair, "Mr. Hedgehog," I began, "as you are well aware, you have countless fangirls."

The hedgehog immediately stopped struggling and looked up at me with panic in his eyes. "Fangirls? Oh God! Don't tell me that you're going to release the fangirls on me!! NO!! I'm begging you, SPARE ME THE HORROR!!" he screamed out in fear.

I reassured him by saying, "Now, now, Mr. Hedgehog. I'm not going to release the fangirls on you, unless you want me to."

"**FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, DON'T DO IT!!" **Shadow then screamed again, jumping in his seat in a vain attempt to get away.

"It's alright; there are no fangirls within a twenty mile radius of this site. I can assure you that you are very safe."

Shadow then calmed down and said, "Okay, if you say it's safe."

"Back to the original topic," I said, making sure that this interview was a success, "you have a lot of fans, especially girls that think that you are sweet and cute. What is your take on their opinion?" I made sure to say "fangirls" without sending him into a panicked frenzy.

"_Sweet?! Cute?! _What sort of madness is this anyway?!" the ebony hedgehog barked.

I replied calmly, "It's a very legitimate question, Mr. Hedgehog, one that I need you to answer completely."

"You want a complete answer? Fine, I'll give you a complete answer! That's a bunch of lies! Shadow the Hedgehog is angsty and macho! He _isn't_ sweet or cute or a loveable, cuddly angel!! If I was an angel of _any_ sort (which I am not), I would be the angel of darkness!! Who keeps spreading these falsehoods anyway?!" He said in his fury.

"I do, and they are not lies! You can be a very sweet little angel if you choose to be!" Maria said, giving the ebony hedgehog a quick kiss on the cheek.

When Shadow had that glazed look in his eye all over again, I officially decided that this would be my most difficult interview yet.

**To be continued**

Endnote: Remember! I need you to send in topics that Shadow can discuss! Please R & R and comment!


	2. Cute and Cuddly

Disclaimer: Although the original concept for this story is mine, Sonic and all other related characters are property of Sega. Starbucks and Myspace are property of their respective owner(s).

Author's Note: Hi ya'll! :) Thank you so much for your participation! I will try my best to give credit to the person whose topic I pick. Please R & R and comment! Enjoy! The topic that will be used in this chapter was sent in by **reyrocks**.

Shadow Speaks Out!

Chapter 2

_**Mr. Taylor's POV**_

As I continued to watch the ebony hedgehog struggle to get out of his chair, I proceeded to ask a question that was submitted by one of our station's viewers.

"Mr. Hedgehog," I began, "as you are probably well aware, you have hundreds of thousands of fans across the world. Tell me, what is it like to have so many people obsessed with you?"

Shadow stopped in his futile attempt to break his bonds, saying, "Well, for one thing, I have absolutely no privacy whatsoever. I mean, I walk into a Starbucks to buy a latte and twenty fangirls will charge me and try to kidnap me! You can't imagine how many times I've heard fangirls scream over the years, 'OMG!! IT'S SHADOW!! CATCH HIM NOW BEFORE HE RUNS AWAY!!"

I thought to myself for a moment before asking, "Are you telling me this just so you can try and trump Sonic's popularity?"

Maria's sister interrupted Shadow. "No, he's telling you the truth. I've checked out his Myspace page, and let me tell you, he has a _ton_ of obsessed fangirls. All they ever talk about is how much they want to hug him."

"**YOU DID**_** WHAT**_**?!"** Shadow shouted at the top of his lungs.

"You heard me; quite frankly, I'm surprised that you haven't been paying attention to all of the comments that people make on your page." She then pulled out a thick manila folder that had a list of all of the comments on the ebony hedgehog's Myspace page. "I really like this one from 1pinkhedgehog, and don't you even _think_ about giving me that look, Shadow!" Maria said, irritated by her brother's insolent look. "This person's comment reads:

'_Dear Shadow:_

_I can't believe I'm talking to a famous celebrity. I just wanted to let you know that I am your number one fangirl and I think that you are a sweet, cuddly angel. I don't care what those other people think, calling you an emo. All I know is that I wish I could be with you forever and ever._

_With lots of hugs and kisses,_

_  
1pinkhedgehog.'_

"I believe that she holds all of the incriminating evidence," I said, looking upon the ebony hedgehog's pure rage.

"MARIA!! How could you do this to me? What have I _ever_ done to you?!" Shadow pleaded to his sister, who was smiling very evilly.

"Oh, I can think up of a lot of different things."

As I continued to appear to remain composed and secure, emotionally, I was on the verge of a breakdown. I wasn't sure how much longer I could handle the extremely off topic and random conversation that was taking place before me. I turned to my right and looked pleadingly at my scribe, who was recording the events that were unfolding on a laptop.

"Help me!" I said in a hissed whisper.

"Relax, you're doing _just _fine," the scribe replied with a smile. This dutiful scribe, who had remained anonymous throughout this interview, was none other than shadowfan13; my scribe was typing the words of this conversation furiously on the computer.

Then, suddenly, a pink hedgehog, who I would later learn was Amy Rose, appeared in our interview room. She said, "Hi there! What are ya'll doing in my basement? And why is Shadow tied up in a chair?"

"Just relax, Amy; everything is under control." Maria said to the pink hedgehog.

Amy, in her never ending curiosity, picked up the manila file that the human girl had set on the far end of the table. The pink hedgehog read the comment that Maria had said aloud earlier and gave her a death glare.

"Maria…did you just read my comments about Shadow on camera?" She asked with a very icy tone in her voice.

The human girl shrugged, "Yeah, and your point is?"

Even though she was a pink hedgehog, Amy turned beet red in the face. Laughing manically, she pulled out a giant hammer from thin air. She then held it out menacingly before her in Maria's direction. "Stupid girl, prepare to face the full extent of my wrath!!" She shouted.

All holy hell would have broken loose if it had not been for the heroic effort of Shadow the Hedgehog. "Girls, calm down!! There is no need for any fighting here! Take a deep breath and calm down!" the ebony hedgehog said, placing special emphasis on the word "calm."

After saving the entire camera crew from the fury of the hedgehog girl, I decided that I was no longer mentally capable of conducting this interview.

"That's it! I can't take this anymore!" I shouted, tossing my papers down on the floor, stomping out of the room.

As everyone in the room looked around, unsure of what to do next, my faithful scribe stepped in for me and said, "How about I conduct this interview?"

Since no one else wanted to volunteer, my scribe then took on the role of news reporter.

**To be continued**


	3. Pink and Emo

Disclaimer: Although the original concept for this story is mine, Sonic and all other related characters are property of Sega.

Author's Note: Hi ya'll! :) Sorry about the short chapter, but I was feeling very random today, so I had to get my ideas down as quickly as possible. Today's topic was submitted by **GloomyDay13. **Please R & R! Enjoy!

Shadow Speaks Out!

Chapter 3

As the scribe was scanning through the thousands of e-mails the station had received, asking questions that Shadow could answer, one e-mail in particular looked especially appealing.

"Okay, I've decided that I don't want to do the interview anymore!" the scribe announced, "and I choose to pass on this responsibility to that guy!" The man in particular was a camera crewman who was wearing a bright red baseball cap that read "KFC" in bold white letters.

"What? Why do _I _have to do it? Can't you pick someone else?" The cameraman pleaded.

"Sorry, but I've already made my choice. All you have to do is state your name on camera and then ask Shadow one of the questions from the e-mails. Then, just go wherever the conversation leads you, but try to stay on topic as much as possible!" The scribe said, smiling.

The cameraman took a few awkward steps and took Mr. Taylor's seat. He then looked into the camera and said, "Um, hi. My name is Joseph, but you can call me Joe. There's a really interesting e-mail that I think would be very interesting to Shadow."

The ebony hedgehog, would had finally realized that escape was impossible, decided to stop fighting the bonds that held him in place.

Joe began, "Okay, here's one from GloomyDay13 that reads:

XD XD! Hammer RULEZ! -hugs- ...i wonder...does Shadow even LIKE pink?

"Do you like pink, Shadow?"

"Pink on me or on someone else?" Shadow asked.

"Either one, I really don't care," Joe replied.

"Well, if it's pink on Amy, then it makes her look really cute," he said flirtatiously towards his girlfriend Amy, "but if _I'm _wearing pink, then that just makes me look macho!"

Maria's mouth dropped wide open after her brother made that remark, "Uh, Shadow, there is no way that _you_ of all people would wear pink. You're too busy making My Chemical Romance and Nirvana t-shirts to even _think_ about wearing pink."

Shadow taunted Maria, "How do you know that I _don't _wear pink?"

His sister replied matter-of-factly, "Because I haven't seen you wear pink, that's why!"

"For your information, I just went out to the mall and I bought myself a new wardrobe," Shadow said with a similar tone as Maria.

The human girl put her hands on her hips and remarked, "Let me guess: you replaced your current set of t-shirts with a _new_ set, didn't you?"

"You don't believe me, do you?" The ebony hedgehog asked.

"Do you see a fish riding a bicycle anywhere?" she replied sarcastically.

The ebony hedgehog made a request. "If you would please untie me, I'll go put on one of my new outfits so that I can prove you wrong!"

Joe asked one of the guards in a hushed tone, "Watch him for me so that he doesn't run off."

"Don't worry! This interview is becoming too random for me to leave now!" Shadow said, catching the two humans off guard. Amy untied him, and he went upstairs to change. A few minutes later, he returned, shocking everyone beyond the point of no return.

Shadow the Hedgehog was dressed in almost entirely pink clothing! He was wearing a pink and black checkered jacket, under which was a hot pink t-shirt that screamed, "Only real men wear pink." He wore pink slip-on shoes with black suede leather on the front and back of the shoe, complete with black trim and soles. The only thing that Shadow wore that wasn't pink was his skinny black jeans.

"What do ya'll think?" Shadow asked, turning around so that the people in the studio and at home could get a 360 degree view of his latest attire.

"Uh, Shadow, why so much pink?" Joe asked.

The ebony hedgehog replied irritably, "Because pink is my favorite color, dang it!! Besides, this is the latest in emo fashion!"

Maria shook her head, "Wow, Shadow, I would have figured the pink shirt, but _this_…_this madness_ is beyond words."

"Well, you'll just have to deal with it, won't you?" the ebony hedgehog said irritably, crossing his arms in anger. He then sat down, carelessly tossed the hood of the jacket over his head, and looked away from his sister.

"I think it makes you look cute!" Amy smiled.

Joe then put his head in his hands as if to say, "Oh God! Not this again!"

**To be continued**


	4. It's Time to Sing and Dance!

Disclaimer: Although the original concept for this story is mine, Sonic and all other related characters are property of Sega. All songs used in this story are property of their respective owner(s).

Author's Note: Hi ya'll! :) Sorry it took me so long to update. Today's topic was submitted by **Airiko-the-Angel13**and **Sonicxrox****. **Please R & R and comment!

Shadow Speaks Out!

Chapter 4

After revealing his new wardrobe, Maria was laughing hysterically while Shadow was still ignoring her. He had put his headphones on and was listening to a screamo song on his iPod. After about five minutes, the human girl was red in the face and having a difficult time breathing.

"Well, if she's not willing to cooperate, then I'm sure if this interview is such a good idea!" The ebony hedgehog declared.

Joe pleaded vehemently, "But, you have to stay! I've been given responsibility over you by shadowfan13, and I can't screw this up!"

"Well, then, you'll just have to deal with it, won't you?" Shadow said, putting an end to the conversation. He was about to walk out the door when Joe the cameraman came up with an ingenious idea.

"Walk out that door, and you'll have to face the fangirls."

Shadow's face then went stark white, but he covered his face so that no one could tell he was afraid. "You're bluffing!" the ebony hedgehog declared.

"You think I'm bluffing, don't you? Well, as they say in my business, the camera never lies!" the cameraman said. He then rolled out a television set on a cart and placed it in front of Shadow. He then turned the screen on, revealing Shadow's worst nightmare.

Before his crimson eyes, the ebony hedgehog could see for himself the sheer number of fangirls in the other room. He made a rough estimate that there were at least 250 girls wearing black t-shirts with his face plastered on them. Joe then pulled out a microphone and said in a loud voice, "Behold! Shadow the Hedgehog walks among you!"

A camera quickly zoomed in on the obviously frightened hedgehog. His face was displayed on the fangirls' side of the wall, immediately sending them into a wild frenzy. They were literally fighting each other to get one glimpse of their ebony hero. Whenever some lucky fangirl actually saw the male hedgehog, she would faint and fall to the floor, guaranteeing an instant trampling. Had the volume on the television been higher than one percent, everyone in the room would have gone deaf from the screaming within seconds.

"Now do you believe me?" Joe asked, giving him a look that said, "Don't even _try_ me, hedgehog?"

"How will I know that this isn't some video recording?" Shadow replied with another question, taking his headphones off.

At that moment, one of the fangirls screamed, louder than any of the others, proclaiming, "OMFG!! A BATTERING RAM!!"

Then, as one body working together to achieve one universal goal, the fangirls arranged themselves so that they could ram the wall with the strength of an army. Shadow almost fell over from the shock of the battering ram colliding with the wall.

"Talk about proof!" Joe said, happily, knowing that he had convinced the ebony hedgehog to stay.

"Oh, really? How will I feel safe here, if I've got a mob of fans waiting to get their hands on me?" Shadow asked, putting his headphones back on.

The cameraman said very irritably, "Look, hedgehog, the only thing separating you from instant death is 4 inches of solid steel and iron. If I push this button, it's all over." He then produced a module that held one very big red button. If the ebony hedgehog didn't have to worry about his fangirls, he might have been tempted enough to push that button, just to see what it would do.

"OKAY, I'LL DO WHAT YOU WANT, JUST DON'T HURT ME!!" Shadow pleaded.

"Alright," Joe said, finally producing results, "I want you to do anything the fangirls want you to do."

"WHAT?!" Shadow screamed.

"I'm not going to let you get hurt…unless you don't cooperate that is," the cameraman smiled evilly. He then picked up the microphone again and spoke, "Okay, ladies, what would you like Shadow to do for you?"

Immediately, like a massive crowd at a rock concert, one side of the girls was screaming, "SING FOR US!!" while the other side was shouting, "DANCE FOR ME, SHADOW!!"

Unsure of what to do, Shadow pulled out an old CD from within his quills. Amy looked at him strangely and asked, "Uh, why do you keep CDs in your quills?"

"If you saw the weapons I keep on me, you wouldn't ask me that question." He then picked up a CD player from one of the tables and pressed "play." As the music began to play, two unknown secrets came to light about the ebony hedgehog. One of those secrets was that he was a very good dancer, while the other was that he had perfect pitch, even when imitating female singers. The song he was singing at the moment caused Maria's mouth to drop wide open:

_Oh baby baby, oh baby baby_

Oh baby baby, how was I supposed to know  
That something wasn't right here  
Oh baby baby, I shouldn't have let you go  
And now you're out of sight, yeah  
Show me how you want it to be  
Tell me baby cuz I need to know now, oh because

Chorus  
My loneliness is killin me (and I)  
I must confess I still believe (still believe)  
When I'm not with you I lose my mind  
Give me a sign, hit me baby one more time!

Shadow had stooped so low as to sing a Britney Spears song! Worst of all, he was thoroughly enjoying himself! He thought it was absolutely hilarious that his fangirls were screaming and fainting over his 

impression of "Hit Me Baby One More Time." They continued their screaming until the worst thing imaginable happened: he forgot the rest of the words to the song.

Immediately, their ecstatic joy turned into bloodthirsty rage. "KEEP SINGING OR ELSE!!" they demanded over the TV screen; Shadow didn't want to know what would happen if he stopped. Out of his desperation, he skipped a couple of songs on his CD to something more recent by the female pop star. He then decided to make one simple change to the first line in the song.

"It's Shadow, betches!" He began, swaying to the music as he sang:

_(I see you...)_

_(And I just want to dance with you) _

_Laugh _

_Every time they turn the lights down _

_Just want to go that extra mile for you _

_You public display of affection _

_Feels like no one else in the room (but you) _

_We can get down like there's no one around _

_We'll keep on rockin' (We'll keep on rockin') _

_We'll keep on rockin' (Keep on rockin') _

He kept singing for several minutes, Maria and Amy feeling very tempted to scream and run out of the basement like possessed people. As they endured the torture of the song, they nearly strangled Shadow when he said, "And now, because I'm such a nice guy, I'm going to sing an extra song for ya'll tonight!" As he started dancing again, more fangirls continued to faint and shout at the top of their lungs.

_I'm bringing sexy back (yeah)  
Them other boys don't know how to act (yeah)  
I think you're special, what's behind your back? (yeah)  
So turn around and I'll pick up the slack. (yeah)_

Take 'em to the bridge

Dirty babe (uh-huh)  
You see the shackles  
Baby I'm your slave (uh–huh)  
I'll let you whip me if I misbehave (uh–huh)  
It's just that no one makes me feel this way (uh-huh)

Take 'em to the chorus

Come here girl  
Go ahead, be gone with it  
Come to the back  
Go ahead, be gone with it  
VIP  
Go ahead, be gone with it  
Drinks on me  


_Go ahead, be gone with it  
Let me see what you're working with  
Go ahead, be gone with it  
Look at those hips  
Go ahead, be gone with it  
You make me smile  
Go ahead, be gone with it  
Go ahead child  
Go ahead, be gone with it  
And get your sexy on  
Go ahead, be gone with it_

Get your sexy on  
Go ahead, be gone with it  
Repeat 6 times

Get your sexy on

At the end of his song, every Shadow fangirl had fainted and was out cold on the basement floor from sheer excitement. The ebony hedgehog was quite pleased with his singing and dancing skills. He then turned to Joe and said, "Now, you see, _that's_ how Shadow the Hedgehog rolls!" When he turned around to face Maria to make a smart-mouthed comment, he noticed that neither his sister or his pink girlfriend weren't in their chairs.

"Where the bloody heck did they go?!" Shadow demanded, turning back to face the cameraman.

Joe shrugged, "Well, while you were singing, they were screaming in agony and ran off somewhere."

Very annoyed, Shadow asked the camera crew, "Would someone _please_ go catch them?" One of the directors complied and ran out of the house to begin his search. "Well, if those two don't want to stay, they don't have to." The ebony hedgehog thought to himself as he sat back down in his seat.

**To be continued**


	5. Mental Hospital?

Disclaimer: Although the original concept for this story is mine, Sonic and all other characters are property of Sega. The Oprah Show is copyright of Oprah herself.

Shadow Speaks Out!

Pt.5

Shadow reclined lazily in his chair while he waited for the producers to find his sister and his girlfriend. Not only was he starting to get bored with this interview nonsense, he also was starting to have a very strong desire to go home, make himself a cup of hot chocolate, and go to sleep. Taking off his pink jacket and wrapping it around himself, he closed his eyes and began to feel sleep starting to come over him.

Slowly but surely, the ebony hedgehog was starting to imagine himself back on the A.R.K., way before any of this madness ever took place. He was sitting in a white chair shaped like a hollowed-out sphere, propping his feet up on an ottoman. Shadow reached over and pulled out an energy drink from the conveniently placed mini refrigerator and poured the caffeinated beverage into a glass with fresh ice.

"Soon," the ebony hedgehog smiled evilly, "this world will bow to me. The worthless humans will worship the ground that I walk across; they will depend on me to spare them the destruction from my wrath."

As he put his drink on the table next to him, he could hear Maria running down the hallway. She soon came to a screeching halt next to him.

"Shadow!" she gasped between breaths, "our computer hackers have just stolen the TV satellite signals from all across Earth!"

Swiveling in his chair, Shadow rotated to face his sister. "You ran all the way down here just to tell me _that?_" he asked perplexedly.

Pushing loose strands of hair out of her eyes, she declared, "Yes! Oprah is on!!"

"GOOD LORD WOMAN! Why didn't you tell me this earlier?! You _know_ that I never miss an episode of Oprah!!"

In his excitement, he knocked over the energy drink that had rested peacefully the moment before.

"What about your drink?" Maria asked.

"Oh screw the God-forsaken drink! It's Oprah time!!" Shadow laughed cheerfully.

But that was all in the past…

*************************************************************************************

The basement door slammed as the guards dragged the pink hedgehog and human girl down the stairs to the interviewing room. The unfortunate females were bound in tight straightjackets, struggling to get free.

One of the guards in white declared to Amy, "Hey, you! Quit squirming, or it's another shot of tranquilizer for you!"

The other guard piped up, "Yeah, don't let her grab hold of any blunt instruments; she nearly killed me!"

Immediately, the two girls stopped struggling and submitted themselves to the authority of the guards who were responsible for their welfare. Back from his task of finding the girls, the director came bounding down the stairs.

Shadow, who was more than slightly shocked at the condition of his girlfriend and sister, was horrified when he saw them being tied to the wooden chairs next to him and having extra duct tape being placed over their mouths.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING WITH THEM?! That's my girlfriend and sister, you nimrods!!" bellowed the ebony male in rage. Upon seeing his clenched fists and fiery eyes, the guards immediately deposited the two girls into the chairs adjacent to the angry male.

The taller of the two guards, too afraid to come within 20 feet of Shadow, replied in a semi-trembling voice, "We're sorry to disturb you right now, Mr. Hedgehog, but your sister and girlfriends' mandatory treatment period is over." Knowing the infamous anger management problems Shadow possessed, the guard was slowly walking towards the door, trying not to make any sudden moves.

"MANDATORY TREATMENT PERIOD?! Enough of this b.s.!! Now tell me what in God's good green earth is going on!!" Shadow wrathfully exclaimed.

"No, sir, we're not lying," the shorter guard calmly explained, "we are from the Sunnyside Valley Mental Institute in downtown. According to Dr. Steinman, these two suffered from a severe emotional breakdown. He believes that there may have been some sort of outside stimuli that could have triggered this most unfortunate incident."

Then, as if a violent hurricane had crashed through the inner depths of the ebony hedgehog's psyche, Shadow became paler than a moth.

"Dr…Dr…Steinman…?" he stammered.

"Uh, yes, Dr. Steinman said that the sound of someone's voice was the culprit; from what I've heard, your sister would mumble lyrics from songs by Brittney Spears, while your girlfriend would speak only in Justin Timberlake songs, primarily 'I'm Bringing Sexy Back.' Again, I'm sorry to inconvenience y'all, but we have to go back to work." The short guard could instantly tell that something was wrong with Shadow. "Mr. Hedgehog, is everything alright? Hello? Can you hear me Mr. Hedgehog?"

But it was too late: Shadow had already fainted at the sound of Dr. Steinman's name. While everyone in the room immediately rushed to help Shadow, Amy and Maria were still struggling in their straightjackets.

About 45 Minutes Later…

Lazily opening his eyes, Shadow awoke to find at least 20 people starring at him.

"AHH!!" the ebony male shrieked in fright, "I need room to breathe, people!"

As if they were an army of soldiers, they moved as one body at least 5 feet away from him.

"Could someone please kindly explain to me why I'm on the floor?" he asked with a combination of sarcasm and flippancy in his voice.

Joe the cameraman/interviewer replied, "Two guards brought Amy and Maria back; one of the guards mentioned some Steinman guy, and then you fainted."

"Oh, okay…wait, huh?" Shadow asked perplexedly.

"What Joe was saying," the scribe shadowfan13 replied, was that when you heard the name 'Steinman,' something in your mind caused you to react by fainting. Tell us, Shadow, how are you connected to the mental institute?"

The male hedgehog angrily retorted, "That's none of your business! Haven't you heard of patient-doctor confidentiality?" Quickly realizing his faux-pas, the ebony hedgehog gasped and covered his mouth with his hands.

"Ha!" cried Joe, "I knew you had some sort of dirty secret!"

"Now you must tell us," the scribe said in a low voice.

"Hell no! I don't have to tell you morons anything!"

"Tell us," the director started chanting. Soon afterward, the editors, cameramen, and the scribe were chanting, "Tell us, tell us, tell us."

"Stop tormenting me!" Shadow pleaded on his knees."

Nevertheless, they continued their chant, torturing the ebony hedgehog as he was writing in pain.

"Alright, fine! I'll tell you! But be warned, it will be very long and confusing."

To be continued…


End file.
